COLORADO AVALANCHE (48-23-6) VS DALLAS STARS (48-20-9)
8:00 PM MDT | BALL ARENA | WATCH: ESPN | LISTEN: 92.5 FM
Colorado will conclude its season-series against Dallas this Sunday at Ball Arena. The Avalanche are 11-3-1 in their last 15 matchups this season, outscoring their opponents 60-35 during that stretch. The Stars will compete in the second half of a back-to-back after their loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. Dallas enters tonight following the conclusion of an eight-game winning streak.
Latest Results:
April 1, 2024 EDM: 6 COL: 2
April 2, 2024 CHI: 3 DAL: 2
OVERTHROWN BY THE OILERS
On Friday night at Rogers Place, Colorado fell to the Edmonton Oilers, 6-2. Corey Perry opened the scoring for Edmonton before Jonathan Drouin and Ross Colton netted two to give the Avalanche the lead in the first period. Colorado remained scoreless for the rest of the game, while the Oilers found the back of the net five straight times. Connor McDavid and Evander Kane each scoring twice, and Mattias Ekholm potting one to seal a 6-2 victory for Edmonton. This concluded the Avalanche’s second-to-last back-to-back set of games this season, with the team posting a 4-3-0 record on the second night.
AVS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Jonathan Drouin scored his 18th goal of 2023-24 against Edmonton and has registered 4g/2a in his last four contests, including three goals in his two most recent games. His 18 goals are tied for the second-most he has tallied in a season.
Ross Colton netted his 16th goal of the campaign versus the Oilers, bringing his season-total to 37 points (16g/21a). He is two shy of matching his career-high set in 2021-22 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Cale Makar picked up the helper on Colton’s goal on Friday night, recording 83 points (19g/63a) this campaign. He surpassed Steve Duchesne for the second-most recorded by an Avalanche/Nordiques defenseman in a campaign and is three shy of tying his own record set in 2021-22 (86 points).
HISTORY
The Avalanche/Nordiques own an all-time record of 76-56-12-11 versus the Stars/North Stars. At home, the franchise has a 45-19-7-6 tally against them. This upcoming matchup will be the fourth time the teams meet this regular season, with the Avalanche having won the first three games this campaign (Nov. 18, 2023; Jan. 4, 2024; Feb. 27, 2024). Over its past ten encounters against Dallas, Colorado is 7-3-0, including four straight wins. 2013-14 (four times) and 2014-15 (five times) are the only seasons in franchise history the team has beaten the Stars’ franchise four times in the same campaign.
CHICAGO CHAMPIONS
On Friday at United Center, the Blackhawks concluded the Stars’ eight-game winning streak, 3-2. After a scoreless first period, Connor Bedard netted his seventh career game-opening goal for the most by a rookie in franchise history. Andreas Athanasiou and Seth Jones scored two uninterrupted before Roope Hintz put Dallas on the board in the second frame. Jamie Benn lit the lamp in the third period looking to close the lead, but Dallas ultimately fell to Chicago.
STATS TO KNOW
Jonathan Drouin is one-shy of matching his career-high in points set in 2016-17 with Tampa Bay and 2018-19 with the Montreal Canadiens.
MacKinnon has registered 25 points (12g/13a) in his last 20 games against Dallas, nine of them resulting in multi-point games.
The centerman has the third-most multi-assist games in franchise history, recording 24 this season (Stastny, 26 in 1981-82; Forsberg, 25 in 1995-96).
In the three games the Avalanche have played against the Stars in 2023-24, Colorado has tallied 16 goals. This equates to 5.33 goals per game.
STARS SUCCESS
Dallas leads the Central Division this campaign at 105 points. On Mar. 28, the Stars became the NHL’s first Western Conference team to clinch a 2024 playoff spot.
In his first full NHL season, Thomas Harley is tied for seventh in goals among all blueliners this campaign with 15. He trails Makar by four.
Jason Robertson leads the Stars in points this season, registering 77 (27g/50a) in 76 games.
NUMBERS GAME
139
Nathan MacKinnon has recorded 131 points (48g/83a) this season. He trails Peter Stastny (1981-82) by eigh points for the most in an Avalanche/Nordiques season.
94.7%
Colorado is 36-for-38 (94.7%) on the penalty kill in its last 13 matchups, second in the league during that span.
4
Artturi Lehkonen registered an assist in Friday night's game, extending his point streak to a season-high of four games. During this span, he has accumulated 2g/2a.
QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK
“It’s tough. Regardless of the back-to-back, we have to be better than what we were tonight. I think we have to find different ways to simplify. Even if pucks are bouncing off our sticks and we’re getting frustrated, we have to find ways to combat that and make it easier on everybody.”
- Colorado D Cale Makar On Friday’s Game Against Edmonton
